Kanye West is acquiring Parler, a social media platform associated with the far-right, supporters of Donald Trump and QAnon. This comes after West's return to Twitter was short-lived, having his account restricted after going on an antisemitic rant, saying that he would go "death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE [sic]".
In the announcement, West said he is making the move because "conservative opinions are considered to be controversial", and he wants a platform where he can freely express himself. This is despite his Twitter account remaining open after his antisemitism, with his dog whistle against Jewish people still live on the site.
"This deal will change the world, and change the way the world thinks about free speech," says George Farmer, CEO of Parler's parent company, Parlement Technologies. "Ye is making a groundbreaking move into the free speech media space and will never have to fear being removed from social media again."
The statement goes on to say that West will contribute to the "non-cancelable environment" on Parler. However, the site has previously banned users for expressing liberal and left-wing opinions.
Interestingly, this acquisition also comes as West's personal friend and supporter, Elon Musk, is poised to complete his buyout of Twitter. It's not known why West has decided to potentially compete with Musk, especially when the Tesla CEO has indicated that Twitter would have much less moderation under his watch.
This isn't the first time Parler has made headlines. The site came under fire in 2021 when it was linked to the January 6 riots. Due to this, the app was temporarily removed from the Google and Apple app stores. The site also fired its CEO when he suggested they remove material from domestic terrorists and delete posts that insight violence.